About eight years ago I printed these directions on how to make a toddler’s dress from half a yard of fabric, but I’ve had some requests to repeat them. The measurements are shown clearly in the illustration. These are only approximate dimensions, and the length is left entirely up to you. The final measurement is dictated by the size of your toddler.
Once you have cut the dress out, proceed as follows:
1. Bind the armholes with self-binding or contrasting bias binding.
2. Fold the sides to the wrong side 1/2 inch and machine-stitch down.
3. Fold down the top and make a casing large enough for a ribbon to be threaded through.
4. Fold up the hem and stitch by hand or machine. A scallop stitch would be decorative if your machine can do it. Baste the hem first and scallop-sew from the right side. This will make the hem difficult to let out, but I doubt you will ever need to do this. The dress is so easy to make you could make another in the time it takes to rehem.
I suggest a soft batiste or polyester/cotton blend for the dress, and if a pair of pants had matching ruffles sewn to them, you would have a “party dress.“ Slit in skirt
